Toots Hibbert Briefly Hospitalized after Hit with a Bottle

*A Richmond, Va. area man was charged on Sunday with aggravated assault and public intoxication after throwing a bottle at reggae singer Frederick “Toots” Hibbert during a concert Saturday, reported The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Toots and his band Toots and the Maytals were performing at the Dominion Riverrock Outdoor Sports and Music Festival when William C. Lewis, 19, reportedly threw a glass vodka bottle from the crowd. The set ended early.

“I was on stage at the sound monitor desk when a clear glass liquor bottle struck Toots Hibbert in the head,” said John O’Donnell, who works for Soundworks, which co-produced the event. “Blood was flowing heavily from his head.”

A guitarist told the crowd that Hibbert was “going to the hospital with a busted head.”

Workers discovered that a vodka bottle had disappeared from a bar, said Jack Berry, executive director of Venture Richmond, which co-produced the event.

Hibbert, 67, was treated at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, then released early on Sunday morning, and appears to hold no grudge against the area, according to festival manager Stephen Lecky.

“He was in good spirits and was very appreciative of Richmond,” he said. “He said he wanted to come back, and he understood this was just one bad apple, basically.”

Added Lecky, “He was one of the nicest men I ever met.”

The band’s Facebook page featured a post late on Sunday which read: “Toots would like to thank all his friends, fans and family who have reached out to him since the bottle throwing incident in Richmond Saturday Night. After 7 seven stitches and a little rest he was able to perform a wonderful show in Westhampton NY tonite as the 1st show of his acoustic tour. The youth who threw the bottle for no apparent reason is in custody and being charged. Being the soldier he is he will hopefully be able to continue the tour.”

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